Drinking water........Not easy for me

Li_Willi

This.

forsettii

In the beginning what I did was drink my one soda (Mountain Dew) 20 oz. Then I would fill that up several times and keep drinking it. Same size and a little bit of the taste the rest of the day.

MB_Positif

I find that if I like the container I am drinking it from, I drink more. Last year it was one of those big plastic insulated cups with a straw. This year I got one of the glass water bottles from Starbucks. I loooooove it because there is no plastic or metal taste. Glass! Yay! You can also add any kind of fresh fruit to water to flavor it a little, I like lemons with strawberries!

Doreen0211

I'm not a fan of water, either. I quit a habit of drinking Diet Pepsi (usually around 4 liters per day) and now I drink seltzer and find that it's quite refreshing. I make sure it's only water, and bubbles and there is no sugar, sugar substitute, or salt added.

emnk5308

Eating veggies can help.. Celery and cucumbers are good. They help hydrate you without you actually having to drink any water.

mcarter99

I agree that 64 oz/day for all is a myth. Listen to your thirst levels. Tea counts. Obviously, if you're trying to lose weight, caloric sweeteners aren't a good idea. You don't have to be one of those all-day-sippers. Chug a small glass at mealtime, or stick to teas.

I read an intuitive eating book that actually advised AGAINST carrying around a water bottle and sipping all day. She likened Americans to babies with their constant sipping and snacking. When you think about it, we didn't do this 40 years ago. Cars didn't have cupholders. Coffee came from a pot at home. Soda came in 8 oz. cups. A business meeting wasn't an occasion for bagels or sandwiches. Her point was if you learn that you don't need mouth stimulation/activity all day, it can be easier to focus on our body's true signals for food and water.

Lol! Babies with their sippie cups! You own tips made sense to me and are reasonable, but, you lost me with the "intuitive eating" book. The only thing you said she described that makes sense to me is to focus on our body's true signals for food and water. If you did that her cart (mouth stimulation) would go behind her horse (body's true signals).

Of course, I disagree with the author's comment.
I carry a nalgene bottle of water so that I have water close by for when I need it:
1) to keep me from going after juices and sodas,
2) from paying for overpriced waters in a bottle when away from home,
3) because I think water (or liquids) in plastic bottles are excessively consumed- I like to contribute to clean environments although I'm not a diehard.
4) no need to be lazy to get up and pour a glass of water when my bottle is right there.
5) My body's "true signal" for water is thirst. When I'm thirsty, I drink my water

So, if anything I have better control over what I drink and the choices I have to drink - all day. It is not a habit for everyone for everyone should do what works best for them.

Also, 40 years ago, our American society was not bombarded with advertisements for sodas, juices, and energy drinks; which are cleverly and effectively designed to get us to buy, buy, buy. And, these same manufactures saw a gold mind in bottle water and did the same. Also, fast food restaurants and drive thru windows were not on almost every main city block for easy access to those that wanted to take their food and sodas with them, hence the bright idea for cup holders. Coffee shops did exist, in fact people called them "coffee shops". You could get coffee in just about any restaurant so far back the cost was a nickle. Doughnuts shops existed (coffee and doughnuts) then, too.

Yeah, coffee shops existed. I don't think they did the $12 billion in business that Starbucks did last year.

Speaking of energy drinks- There was a new addition to the S&P 500 this week (biggest companies on the US exchanges): Monster Beverages! Guess what it replaced? Sara Lee! I guess we'd rather drink our calories now.

arw4

Another thing that helped me - I quit all other drinks for a while and only gave myself water as an option. Now I mainly drink water but have coffee in the morning and tea at night. If there is nothing else then you learn to like water. It's how I get my 5 year old to drink water too when she needs to.

This is what I did for a while too. Even now I rarely drink anything but water. Also, I find that drinking more water controls my appitite, especially if I drink water before and with my meals. I carry around a 64 oz bottle (from walmart) and drink it all day long. Now if I don't have my 8 glasses a day I feel extremely dehydrated.

eternityshard

For me, I also found that I wouldn't drink water without anything in it to add flavor. However, I also have tried to cut everything artificial out of my diet, so that eliminated pretty much any crystal light / mio/ etc.

Fortunately, I stumbled upon flavored liquid stevia: http://www.sweetleaf.com/products/sweet-drops-products

This stuff is absolutely amazing. It isn't the hint of maybe some flavor waved near your water, either. It is full strong flavors (and sweet, too). My friends were skeptical, so I dropped 16 drops in their water (they were enormous cups of water at a restaurant) and they were amazed that they suddenly tasted like they were drinking root beer (abeit flat).

Now, I have to be careful that I'm not drinking too much water, because it tastes so great, I tend to down it like crazy if I've added this to it.

I generally use Root Beer, Cinnamon, Lemon Drop, or Orange in my water, and use the "heavier" flavors like chocolate and vanilla creme in plain greek yogurt (which suddenly tastes way better than any horribly sugared flavored yogurt.

jg627

Mary Robbins can help you with that.

All day I've faced a barren waste
Without the taste of water, cool water
Old Dan and I with throats burned dry
And souls that cry for water
Cool, clear, water

Makes me thirsty every time.